What did Mahfuz Akhter Kiron say?

In a recent TV talk show, Kiron said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had neglected football in Bangladesh, a crazy cricket country.

This prompted a local sports official, Abul Hasan Chowdhury Prince, to file a defamation complaint.

Mahfuza said on television that [the] PM maintains the double standard for football and cricket. She rewards cricket for her personal gains but ignores football, "said Mr Hasan's lawyer quoted by the Associated Press.

The defamation complaint alleges that such comments about the sports-loving Prime Minister embarrass the nation as a whole.

Copyright of the imageReuters

Legend

Sheikh Hasina is the most senior prime minister in the history of Bangladesh

Prime Minister Cheikh Hasina, who obtained his third consecutive term last December, has not yet made any public comment on this issue.

Sheikh Hasina wins a landslide during a disputed vote

In 2017, Ms. Kiron was elected FIFA Representative for Asian Football.

She quickly faced fierce criticism for having trouble naming the current female world champions – the US team.

Asked by BBC World Service, who won the 2015 Women's World Cup, she answered "Korea? Japan?" – give only the correct answer on the third attempt.